Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett for that supplementary. The open architecture of this Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will facilitate access by additional member countries to join in the future, which will further amplify its benefits.

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—

Senator Whish-Wilson is misleading the Senate. He knows that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade engaged in over 1,000 TPP stakeholder briefings and consultations between May 2011 and mid-2015 and that, consistent with longstanding treaty-making processes, there will be an opportunity for public and parliamentary scrutiny prior to the TPP being ratified.

TPP countries account for 24 per cent of the world's trade in services. Australia's services exports to TPP countries were worth $20 billion in 2014, almost 35 per cent of our total services exports, and this is expected to grow strongly moving forward.